The present application describes a coated printing paper suitable for heat-set printing applications as well as cold-set printing applications. Methods for producing the paper are also disclosed.
The cold-set process is predominantly used for the printing of newspapers on uncoated newsprint paper, and the printing processes used are therefore commonly referred to as newsprint printing presses. The heat-set process, on the other hand, covers an entirely different field of application and is, similar to the rotogravure process, predominately used for high-quality multi-color printing applications on coated, high-finish supercalendered papers up to the highest grades.
Papers used for cold-set printing are typically uncoated and have a high receptivity for liquids due to the absence of a paper coating. This is why it has been possible to use a printing ink which is absorbed quickly and therefore dries quickly, so that no additional energy in the form of heat or other radiation energy is necessary to assist drying of the printed ink.
Typically, paper made for heat-set printing applications would not perform well in cold-set printing mainly for two reasons. Either the paper does not accept the cold-set ink causing ink piling on blankets or it does not dry after printing causing offsetting. The problem becomes even more acute with paper surfaces coated with clay or carbonate based coatings.